New research reveals the UK are 15 years behind comparable countries in treating cancer

Two studies have been compared to show how often cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the UK in comparison with countries such as Australia, Norway and Canada.

The study was completed by the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership and was part funded by Cancer Research UK. The study considered a pool of more than 780,000 patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2017.

The shocking results found that the UK’s approach to the treatment of cancer is behind all three countries. The UK also has lower five-year survival rates in comparison.

Some of the shocking findings related to pancreatic cancer with only 27% of UK patients receiving chemotherapy in comparison to Canada’s 41%, Norway’s 47% and Australia’s 50%.  Similarly, of those with esophageal cancer only 31% of patients received radiotherapy in the UK compared to highs of 59% of patients receiving radiotherapy in Canada.

The lower use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy significantly affects the chance of survival for everyone, especially for older patients.

The clinical lead for the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, Dr John Butler, said the research reveals the “missed opportunities” for UK patients to receive “life-prolonging treatment,” he went on to emphasise how important it is for treatment to be started at the earliest opportunity.

In recent times we have seen an increasing delay in diagnosis within the NHS. At Jordans Solicitors we often see the “missed opportunities” for clients to receive “life-prolonging treatment,” due to symptoms being poorly investigated or missed entirely. This could be a result of a combination of factors such as underfunding, understaffing and the retention of talent within the NHS. The later a cancer has been identified, the fewer treatment options are available.